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Tunnel Boring Machine Inches Closer

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Jul 8, 2008 7:10 pm US/Eastern

Tunnel Boring Machine Inches Closer

Reporting
John Shumway
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Walking up and down gently rolling hills is just part of life in Southwestern Pennsylvania, but encountering inclines underground is a bit of a surprise.

The Port Authority's new transit tunnel descends from the boring pit on the North Side towards the Allegheny River.

Still in a descent, it starts a gentle left turn as it passes the foundation of the Equitable Gas building and ducks below the river bed.

In fact, the descent doesn't bottom out until the tunnel reaches the middle of the river.
 
Looking around the tunnel at that low point there is no way to know where you are or what's above you but the Port Authority's Rail Operations Engineer, Winston Simmonds says above the 20 foot tall tunnel, "There is soil, about 35 feet of soil."

That's just to the bottom of the river.

"Then we have the normal pool elevation of the Allegheny River which is 25 feet, so it's roughly 60 to 65 feet from the top of the tunnel to the water's surface," said Simmonds.
 
As the tunnel continues on towards the Golden Triangle, it starts rising and starts a pretty dramatic right hand turn to line up with Stanwix Street.

As of Tuesday night, the boring machine's cutting blade is about 50 feet below the driving surface of Stanwix Street and 60 feet from where it will break through into it's city side receiving pit.
 
"If things all go well," Simmonds says, "We should be in position to hole through two days from now."
 
Once that happens on Thursday, crews will turn the tunnel boring machine around, along with it's trailing cars. Simmonds says that process will take several weeks and digging on the north bound tunnel should begin in mid to late August.

Under the current timetable the second tunnel will be finished by Christmas with passengers taking their first rides in about three years.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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